This is a common question when it comes to wedding stationery. There is so much to think about when planning a wedding, especially as it is often more than an year ahead, and is not something you would necessarily think about straight away.
Like most of the planning, getting things done in plenty of time can definitely help alleviate much of the wedding stress so I will give you my suggestion on when you should be thinking about ordering and sending out your invitations.
You also need to take into account how long it will take to produce your stationery. I offer bespoke design packages, which normally take around 8-12 weeks in total. Starting from creating some proofs for you, making sure everything is just right and amending anything then through to printing. It can vary if you have different print finishes, and any calligraphy items would also take extra time. I also offer customisable and semi-customisable designs which take around 4-6 weeks. Here you would choose one of the designs from my collections instead of having a design done from scratch so there is a much quicker turnaround time.
SAVE THE DATES
If you want to send out save the dates I would suggest sending them around 8/9 months before you are getting married. If you are getting married abroad then it should be 12 months ideally.
You will be asking people to book time off work and book flights and hotels so this does need to be done quite far in advance.
If you have a shorter timeframe to work with, don’t panic! You can choose to not send out save the dates at all. I mainly recommend save the dates if you are having a destination wedding, if people are going to be travelling far so a long weekend, or if you are having your wedding around a bank holiday or peak summer time. It just makes sure guests have enough notice to book any time off work.
INVITATIONS
I would advise you to aim for sending out your main invitations around 5-6 months before the wedding.
Again if you are on a short time frame it doesn't mean you can't send them out later. It just ensures that all the rsvp's will be back in time for you to have accurate guest numbers for your suppliers with out rushing.
ON THE DAY
On the day stationery is another area where you can really let your imagination go! There are lots of different options - table numbers, place settings, seating plane, welcome signs, orders of service, menus, the list goes on.
Depending on how many items you would like to order I would recommend getting in touch around 2-3 months before the wedding, when you have all of the necesssary details such as the returned rsvp's and any hymns/readings for your service.
I aim to get everything to you at least 2 weeks before your wedding day to try and eliminate any stresses so close to the day. If you find yourself with less than 2 months before the wedding don't panic, get in touch and I will do my best to work to your deadlines.